London H.W. October 6th 1869.
My Lord,
On my arrival in this Country on the 7th of September last, I enclosed in a letter to your Lordship the certificate of His Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong dated the 19th of July last, by which he certified that he had granted to me leave of absence for five months.
The certificate states that leave was granted to me on the ground of urgent private affairs. I did not so understand my application, which was founded on the medical certificate of the Colonial Surgeon, stating that I was in a general greatly disturbed state of health owing to a cataract and an incipient ... affliction, rendering it a duty for me to consult the first opinion I could obtain in this Country.
A reference to the correspondence which was forwarded to the Colonial Office would show how far my impression is correct.
The Right Honble Earl Granville, K.G., H.M. Secretary of State for the Colonies.